Flyers don’t want to be ‘Comeback Kids’

Vinny Lecavalier (far right), scored his 10th goal of the season Tuesday, to give the Flyers another comeback win. (USA TODAY Images)

VOORHEES — On the surface, all is well with the Flyers no matter how they start their games…as long as them end them correctly. Tuesday night in Buffalo was the latest example.

Vinny Lecavalier’s last-minute goal gave the Flyers a 4-3 win over the Sabres. It was the eighth time this season the team has come back to win after trailing at some point in the third period. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, that’s one off a franchise mark, made in the 1996-97 season.

“Earlier in the year, we were finding ways to lose games and now we’re finding ways to win games,” Sean Couturier said. “We’re a lot more confident in our capabilities to score goals and come back and if we’re down a goal or two, we know we can score some goals. We’re pretty confident about our game right now.”

And confidence is a great thing to have.

Still, their coach would like to see a bit more to start games. It’s been a problem recently and the comeback mentality has helped mask it. Instead of marking a third consecutive tally in the loss column Tuesday, the Flyers added a seventh player who has double-digit goals en route to another comeback.

“You go into the Buffalo game last night, in the first period you wouldn’t have said that,” Craig Berube said when asked if scoring a lot of goals is an accurate representation of his team. “We weren’t very good. You’ve got to have everyone going all the time and you’ve got to be mentally ready to go all the time. Every game’s tough and I think when we’re clicking and everybody’s going, we’re a pretty good hockey team.”

Having the killer instinct to return from being down is a tool the Flyers appreciate having in their toolbox. They just don’t want to have to use it all the time.

“It’s not a good thing to be down in the third period,” said Matt Read, who returned from a six-game absence to help set up the game winner in Buffalo, “but the last couple wins, we’ve been down in the third period and battled through adversity in the last couple minutes to score a goal. It’s something you can’t be proud of. You don’t want to settle and be ‘The Comeback Kids’ again.”

The Flyers would prefer to get their goals and boast their scoring depth a little earlier in the game and play with a lead. Still, it beats what was happening in the beginning of the season.

“At the beginning of the year, we had a hard time scoring two, three goals in a game,” Couturier said. “Now we know we’re capable of scoring two or three goals in a period. The mindset is a little different.”

If the Flyers progressed from scoring nothing to scoring late, they’d like to take the next step and show they can do it earlier. Playing with a lead is perhaps an easier way to build confidence than winning nail-biters and holding breath until late in the third period.

“You don’t want to be getting yourself in too many holes or trying to climb your way back to too many games,” Brayden Schenn said. “If we have to, we’ll try to do it.”

OPTIONAL PRACTICE

The Flyers held a very, very optional practice Wednesday. The only players on the ice were Jay Rosehill, Steve Downie, Chris VandeVelde, Hal Gill and Erik Gustafsson with Ray Emery tending goal. As the year goes on, we may see more of that.

“With this many games, a rest is more important right now,” Berube said. “It’s tough that way, but guys have to stay focused. We can do some teaching through video and keep guys fresh.”

THURSDAY’S LINEUP

Don’t expect the lineup to change Thursday from what it was in the Flyers’ win Tuesday. If anything, perhaps Rosehill sits since the Preds don’t have a true heavyweight enforcer and Berube brings Downie out of the doghouse after sitting two games as a healthy scratch.

The other possibility of a lineup change is if Scott Hartnell can’t play. He was temporarily hurt in Tuesday’s win, but returned to the game. Berube didn’t sound too concerned.

“We’ll see tomorrow,” the coach said. “I think he’s OK. We’ll make a better decision tomorrow after the morning skate.”

NASHVILLE MAKES A TRADE

The Flyers’ next opponent made a move Wednesday that changed the look of their goaltending. Nashville sent forward Matt Hendricks to the Edmonton Oilers for goalie Devan Dubnyk. The 27-year-old netminder has an 11-17-2 record, 3.36 goals-against average and .894 save percentage in 32 games for Edmonton this season. The Oilers have shored up their goaltending, at least for this season, by signing former Flyer Ilya Bryzgalov back in November.

About Dave Isaac

Dave Isaac joined the Courier-Post in April 2012 after covering the Flyers for the past three seasons. Follow Dave on Twitter @davegisaac.

About this Blog

On the ice and in the locker room with the Philadelphia Flyers

About the Author

Dave Isaac joined the Courier-Post in April 2012 after covering the Flyers for the past three seasons. He graduated from Temple University with a degree in Broadcast Journalism.
Follow Dave on Twitter @davegisaac.